On Tuesday, BSE Sensex ended the day with a gain of 155.62 points, or 0.88%, at 17,806.19, while the broad-based NSE Nifty closed at 5,270.05, up 69.35 points, or 1.33%.

The 30-share benchmark index, Sensex, opened with a positive gap of 148.99 points at 17,799.56 mirroring buoyant global cues in the early trades. Later, the index proceeded to trade in the positive terrain on account of sustained buying activity in frontline stocks. Finally, the index closed on a firm note after touching an intraday high of 17, 860.10.

Global markets

Asian stocks advanced on Tuesday (Feb. 26, 2008) after the world`s largest bond insurers retained top credit ratings which eased concerns that the global economic growth will slow on new credit losses.

Market statistics

Out of the total 2,785 stocks traded at the BSE, 1,652 advanced, 1,074 declined while 59 remained unchanged.

Gainers at the Sensex were Grasim, which vaulted 5.06% to close at Rs 3042.70, REL and BHEL rose over 4% each to Rs 1697.25 and Rs 2180.55 respectively. Infosys, HDFC Bank, HUL, ACC, ONGC, Wipro and ICICI Bank were among the other gainers.

Laggards at the BSE Sensex include Bharti Airtel, which dropped 1.38% to end at Rs 838.80, HDFC fell 0.48% to Rs 2574.35 and Tata Motors declined 0.46% to close at Rs 702.10.

Top Turnover

Reliance Power topped the turnover chart with Rs 2,993.5 million followed by Reliance Capital with Rs 1,642.1 million.

On back of strong global cues, market had a modest start. Sensex traded ranged in green throughout the day. But in the last hour of trade, there was some profit booking which led the indices to loose some gains. Mid caps and small caps outsmarted the large caps. Market once again flared ahead of budget. Realty, IT, Power, Metals and Oil & gas sector were among gainers. Tea sector witnessed huge buying. Railway budget was presented today by the famous Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and as usual it was cherished as it proved to be a good one. Major future plans were chalked, which also provided some hope for orders to IT companies like TCS , Wipro , Infosys and Satyam. Asian indices closed in positive. Europe is trading in green.

The Railway Budget proved to be beneficiary to some industries like Steel, Technology, Capital goods and Infrastucutre. Budget chalked out plans to introduced steel coaches by 2010. This will benefit Tata Steel , Jindal Steel , Sail and few more. The other measures to see positives are.. Automated signalling..Kernex Micro. ETA display in long-run trains to benefit Mic Electronics. CCTV, metal detectors installation is expected to benefit Zicom . Anti-fire protection to benefit Nitin Fire Protection. The budget will have online control of trains in 2 years. It plans to link trains via software communication by 2009. It plans to start ticket confirmation via mobile phones. The Budet is planning 'smart card' based ticket system. SMART CARDS will benefit Bartronics.

McLeod Russel India Ltd (McLeod) is largest a tea plantation company in the world. Mcleod. It has around 52 tea estates with total capacity of 70mn kg. Tea production is expected to be stagnant with limited land availability. This has led to good realisation and it is expected to futher go up. For short term Kenya's drought problem and political issues has affected production there. McLeod Russel sees a rise of Rs 5-7 for the rest of the year in tea prices. On this hopes the stock rose and locked at upper circuit.

Technically Speaking: Markets closed 155 points in green. Sensex made an intra day high of 17860 and low of 17679. The breadth was in favor of Advances, as there were 1613 Advances against 1110 Declines. Market turnover was low at Rs 4818 cr. Sensex support stands at 17450. Resistance lies at 18000.

The market extended Monday (25 February 2008)'s gains after Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav provided thrust on modernising rail infrastructure in Railway Budget 2008-09 which he presented to parliament today. Keeping the common man in mind, the railway minister also cut passenger fares, with parliamentary elections due in 2009. Firm global markets also helped support domestic bourses.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 155.62 points or 0.88% at 17,806.19. It opened 148.99 points higher at 17,799.56. Sensex hit a high of 17,860.10 in late trade. At day’s high Sensex gained 209.53 points. Sensex hit a low of 17,678.74 in afternoon trade. At the day's low, Sensex was up 28.17 points.

The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was up 69.35 points or 1.33% at 5,270.05.

The market breadth was strong. Mid-cap and small-cap indices outperformed Sensex. 19 stocks from 30-member Sensex pack were in the green.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad today announced a cut in freight rates by 5% on petrol and diesel in the Railway Budget for 2008/09. He also announced a reduction of 5% in fares for second class sleeper-class passengers. Yadav cut the fare of air conditioned (AC) I-tier by 7%, AC II-tier by 4%, and AC III-tier by 3%. The Indian railways will offer discounts on charges for freight booked during lean seasons Yadav told parliament in his budget speech.

The Railway Minister said Indian Railways will report a cash surplus of Rs 25,000 crore in FY 2007-08. Railways will invest Rs 75,000 crore to upgrade infrastructure over the next seven years and also to start making steel coaches from FY 2009 and introduce them from FY 2010. There will be no peak season surcharge on cement transport.

Railways plan to upgrade 50 container terminals across the country which includes Mumbai and Chandigarh terminals. The Railways will begin 25-30 tonne axle load trains.

As per reports, the government has clarified that lending and borrowing of securities under the securities lending and borrowing scheme will not attract Securities Transaction Tax (STT) or capital gains tax. However, it is not clear if sale and repurchase transactions made on the basis of borrowed securities would be taxable.

The next major trigger for the market is the Union Budget 2008-09. With general elections due in 2009, Union Budget 2008-09 to be presented on 29 February 2008 will be the last full-fledged budget of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government and it is therefore likely to be a populist budget. Thus, the Finance Minister (FM) is likely to provide higher allocations to several social initiatives like rural upliftment, employment, education, agricultural growth and public health.

Though populist measures will dominate the budget, FM is also expected to take steps to stimulate investment and consumption demand at a time when the economy is witnessing moderation from a solid growth last year. A reduction in personal income tax, if any, will result in increase in disposable incomes which in turn may boost demand for consumer goods.

Expectations are that the corporate income tax rate may be cut or the 10% surcharge on corporate tax may be abolished. The surcharge is 10% on a tax rate of 30%, making the effective corporate tax rate 33%. Another possibility is that of a cut in dividend distribution tax from 15% to 12.5%. Meanwhile, FM may raise the Securities Transaction Tax slightly.

It is also expected that the FM would announce some relief packages for troubled export sensitive sectors like textiles, rubber, jewelry, leather and IT services. These sectors have been hit by rupee’s surge in the past one year.

The market breadth was strong: on BSE 1,652 advanced as compared to 1,081 that declined. 41 shares remained unchanged.

Information Technology Vision 2012 aims at radical changes in IT applications on a common platform in Indian Railways with focus on improvement in operational efficiency, transparency in working and better services to the customers.

Shares of three oil refinery firms rose between 3.64% to 4.18% after a cut in freight rates by 5% on petrol and diesel announced in the Railway Budget for 2008/09. Indian Oil Corporation (up 4.17% to Rs 550.90), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 5.38% to Rs 456.45) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (up 4.75% to Rs 307.70) gained.

Banking stocks edged higher. HDFC Bank rose 2.27% to Rs 1,455. As per reports after acquiring Centurion Bank of Punjab, HDFC Bank, the second largest private sector bank after ICICI Bank, may look at an overseas buy. The bank would look at an acquisition for increasing its presence in the retail space abroad. ICICI Bank, India's biggest private sector bank in terms of net profit rose 0.72% to Rs 1,118.05 while State Bank of India, India's biggest commervial bank, declined 0.36% to Rs 2,119.85.

Power stocks rose. India's second largest power utility firm by revenue Reliance Energy rose 4.95% to Rs 1,697.25 after company said its board will meet on 5 March 2008 to consider, buy back of equity shares of the company. Tata Power Company (up 0.44% to Rs 1,356.05), PowereGrid Corporation of India (up 0.44% to Rs 102.45) and NTPC (up 0.27% to Rs 203.90) edged higher.

However, Reliance Power declined 0.54% at Rs 447.95. The company had announced yesterday that its board had approved a proposal for issuing free bonus shares to all categories of shareholders, excluding the promoter group (comprising of Reliance Energy and the ADA Group), in the ratio of 3 shares for every 5 shares held.

India's largest truck maker by sales Tata Motors declined 0.46% to Rs 702.10. As per reports US-based automaker Ford Motor Company could announce as early as late next week the sale of its luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands to the Indian company.

European markets were strong. France’s CAC 40, Germany’s DAX and UK’s FTSE 100 were up by between 0.96-1.53%.

Asian stocks were mixed. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, China and Taiwan were up by between 0.26% to 1.92%. However, Japan’s Nikkei declined 0.66% to 13,824.72.

US stocks rose sharply on Monday on signs the two largest bond insurers would stabilize, bringing a wave of relief to a market dogged by concerns of further bank write-downs. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 189.20 points, or 1.53%, to end at 12,570.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 24.13 points, or 1.05%, to close at 2,327.48.

The 30-share BSE Sensex had surged 301.50 points or 1.74% at 17,650.57 on Monday, 25 February 2008 following a higher than expected bonus ratio from Reliance Power and taking its cue from firm global markets. However, the market breadth was weak on that day.

Sensex is down 3,400.58 points or 16.03% from a record high of 21,206.77 hit on 10 January 2008. The barometer index is down 12.22% in calendar 2008 so far.

After witnessing range-bound movement for the day, the market settled in positive territory. The Sensex kissed the day's high of 17,860, up 210 points from the previous close of 17,650, and finally ended with gains of 155 points at 17,806. The Nifty gained 69 points to close at 5,270. The breadth of the market was marginally positive. Of the 2,785 stocks traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 1,645 stocks advanced, 1,079 stocks declined and 61 stocks ended unchanged.

Front-line stocks like Grasim led the upmove and soared 5.06% at Rs3,042.70. REL rose 4.59% at Rs1,697.25, BHEL jumped 4.58% at Rs2,180.55 and Infosys advanced 3.02% at Rs1,662. However, Bharti Airtel dropped 1.38% at Rs838.80, HDFC fell 0.48% at Rs2,574.35, Tata Motors declined 0.46% at Rs702 and SBI was down 0.36% at Rs2,119.85.

Suzlon Energy vaulted 6.26% at Rs314.85, REL surged 4.59% at Rs1,697.25, BHEL soared 4.58% at Rs2,180.55 and Crompton Greaves advanced 4.18% at Rs311.80. GMR Infrastructure, CESC, AREVA and SIEMENS gained 1-3% each in power stocks. The major gainers include Roto Pumps that gained 20% at Rs71.10, followed by Glory Poly moving up 20% at Rs105.30, and Mcleod Russel advancing 19.98% at Rs78.05.

The Indian market rallied through the trading session to close on an upbeat note. The market opened with heavy gains on the back of favoring cues from the global markets and kept on hovering in the positive territory through out the trading session. The market however pared some of its gains soon after the firm start but gained the momentum soon after the declaration of the Union Railway Budget. The Small Caps and Mid Caps also joined the rally of the benchmark indices as they also posted handsome gains. From the sectoral front, the Capital Goods, Realty and Metal stocks remained in the limelight as most buying was seen from these baskets. The BSE Sensex closed higher by 155.62 points at 17,806.19 and NSE Nifty closed up by 69.35 points at 5,270.05. The BSE Mid Cap and Small Cap closed higher by 96.45 points and 122.21 points at 7,690.86 and 9,648.49 respectively.

The market pared gains in late trade after touching a fresh intra-day high in mid-afternoon trade after Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav provided thrust on modernising rail infrastructure in Railway Budget 2008-09 which he presented to parliament today. The market had opened on a firm note today tracking steady to firm trend in Asian stocks. Metal, capital goods, banking, realty and power stocks rose.

The market breadth was strong. Mid-cap and small-cap indices outperformed Sensex. 21 stocks from 30-member Sensex pack were in the green.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad today announced a cut in freight rates by 5% on petrol and diesel in the Railway Budget for 2008/09. He also announced a reduction of 5% in fares for second class sleeper-class passengers. Yadav cut the fare of air conditioned (AC) I-tier by 7%, AC II-tier by 4%, and AC III-tier by 3%. The Indian railways will offer discounts on charges for freight booked during lean seasons Yadav told parliament in his budget speech.

The Railway Minister said Indian Railways will report a cash surplus of Rs 25,000 crore in FY 2008-09. Railways will invest Rs 75,000 crore to upgrade infrastructure over the next seven years and also to start making steel coaches from FY 2009 and introduce them from FY 2010. There will be no peak season surcharge on cement transport.

Railways plan to upgrade 50 container terminals across the country which includes Mumbai and Chandigarh terminals. The Railways will begin 25-30 tonne axle load trains.

The 30-share BSE Sensex provisionally ended up 93.23 points or 0.53% at 17,743.80. It opened 148.99 points higher at 17,799.56. Sensex hit a high of 17,860.10 in late trade. At day’s high Sensex gained 209.53 points. Sensex hit a low of 17,678.74 in afternoon trade. At the day's low, Sensex was up 28.17 points.

The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was up 49.65 points or 0.95% at 5,250.35.

The next major trigger for the market is the Union Budget 2008-09. With general elections due in 2009, Union Budget 2008-09 to be presented on 29 February 2008 will be the last full-fledged budget of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government and it is therefore likely to be a populist budget. Thus, the Finance Minister (FM) is likely to provide higher allocations to several social initiatives like rural upliftment, employment, education, agricultural growth and public health.

Though populist measures will dominate the budget, FM is also expected to take steps to stimulate investment and consumption demand at a time when the economy is witnessing moderation from a solid growth last year. A reduction in personal income tax, if any, will result in increase in disposable incomes which in turn may boost demand for consumer goods.

Expectations are that the corporate income tax rate may be cut or the 10% surcharge on corporate tax may be abolished. The surcharge is 10% on a tax rate of 30%, making the effective corporate tax rate 33%. Another possibility is that of a cut in dividend distribution tax from 15% to 12.5%. Meanwhile, FM may raise the Securities Transaction Tax slightly.

It is also expected that the FM would announce some relief packages for troubled export sensitive sectors like textiles, rubber, jewelry, leather and IT services. These sectors have been hit by rupee’s surge in the past one year.

The market breadth was strong: on BSE 1,610 advanced as compared to 1,113 that declined. 42 shares remained unchanged.

Information Technology Vision 2012 aims at radical changes in IT applications on a common platform in Indian Railways with focus on improvement in operational efficiency, transparency in working and better services to the customers.

Shares of three oil refinery firms rose between 3.64% to 4.18% after a cut in freight rates by 5% on petrol and diesel announced in the Railway Budget for 2008/09. Indian Oil Corporation (up 3.64% to Rs 548.10), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 4.18% to Rs 451.25) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (3.93% to Rs 305.30) gained.

Banking stocks edged higher. HDFC Bank rose 2.27% to Rs 1,455. As per reports after acquiring Centurion Bank of Punjab, HDFC Bank, the second largest private sector bank after ICICI Bank, may look at an overseas buy. The bank would look at an acquisition for increasing its presence in the retail space abroad. ICICI Bank, India's biggest private sector bank in terms of net profit rose 0.72% to Rs 1,118.05 while State Bank of India, India's biggest commervial bank, declined 0.36% to Rs 2,119.85.

Power stocks rose. India's second largest power utility firm by revenue Reliance Energy rose 4.95% to Rs 1,697.25 after company said its board will meet on 5 March 2008 to consider, buy back of equity shares of the company. Tata Power Company (up 0.44% to Rs 1,356.05), PowereGrid Corporation of India (up 0.44% to Rs 102.45) and NTPC (up 0.27% to Rs 203.90) edged higher.

However, Reliance Power declined 0.54% at Rs 447.95. The company had announced yesterday that its board had approved a proposal for issuing free bonus shares to all categories of shareholders, excluding the promoter group (comprising of Reliance Energy and the ADA Group), in the ratio of 3 shares for every 5 shares held.

India's largest truck maker by sales Tata Motors declined 0.46% to Rs 702.10. As per reports US-based automaker Ford Motor Company could announce as early as late next week the sale of its luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands to the Indian company.

European markets were strong. France’s CAC 40, Germany’s DAX and UK’s FTSE 100 were up by between 1.18-1.52%.

Asian stocks were mixed. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, China and Taiwan were up by between 0.26% to 1.92%. However, Japan’s Nikkei declined 0.66% to 13,824.72.

US stocks rose sharply on Monday on signs the two largest bond insurers would stabilize, bringing a wave of relief to a market dogged by concerns of further bank write-downs. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 189.20 points, or 1.53%, to end at 12,570.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 24.13 points, or 1.05%, to close at 2,327.48.

The 30-share BSE Sensex had surged 301.50 points or 1.74% at 17,650.57 on Monday, 25 February 2008 following a higher than expected bonus ratio from Reliance Power and taking its cue from firm global markets. However, the market breadth was weak.

In BSE, 14,113 shares of the scrip were traded. The stock had an average daily volume of 47,954 shares on BSE in past one quarter.

The scrip had touched a high of Rs 799 and a low of Rs 720 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 1087.80 on 27 December 2007 and a 52-week low of Rs 210.25 on 30 May 2007.

The scrip had underperformed the market in the one month to 25 February 2008, falling 8.79% as against the Sensex's 3.87% decline. It had, however, outperformed the market in the past three months, soaring 21.75% against the Sensex's 7.72% slide.

The mid-cap video display system maker has an equity capital of Rs 20.13 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

At the current price of Rs 786, the scrip trades at a PE multiple of 28.87, based on Q3 December 2007 annualised EPS of Rs 27.22.

The estimated time of arrival or ETA is a system used to know when the vehicle is expected to reach/arrive at a certain place. ETAs are used in public transports to generate estimated times of arrival depending on either a static timetable or through measurements on traffic intensity. ETA is electronically calculated and flashed on LED display screens.

MIC Electronics designs and manufactures light-emitting diode (LED) video display systems. The LED products manufactured by the company find various applications, including sport and live events, advertising campaigns and news ticker displays.

The net profit of MIC Electronics rose 109.8% to Rs 13.70 crore on 114.8% rise in sales to Rs 78.24 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q3 December 2006.

Life barrels on like a runaway train where the passengers change, they don't change anything, you get off someone else can get on.The markets resemble a runaway train since Monday. Some getting in, some getting off. After all it is better to get off comfortably at your destination rather than being thrown out for ticketless travel (read leveraged play). With the railway budget set to be a populist one, the bulls will hope that they manage to chug ahead. Expectations are that the railway minister many announce reduction in certain passenger fares and freight rates.

The global cues will lend support at start. The outlook for today is a good opening led by some follow on buying. Depending on the budget announcements, certain sectors and stocks will have a field day. Profit booking at higher levels could always set in as the near term outlook remains a worry. Get in and get out as per your risk profile. Monday’s start brought in hopes of a long awaited pre-budget rally. How long that lasts, remains to be seen.

A mix of surging costs and a steel shortage could bring steel stocks in limelight unless the railway minister decides to spoil sentiment. Globally, further hikes are expected in steel.

Watch out for action in tea counters too.

The FIIs turned to net buyers of Rs1.78bn in Index Future and by Rs4.75bn in index options. In Single Stock Futures they were net buyers at Rs53.4mn. In the Cash segment, FIIs were net buyers by Rs7.83bn and DIIs were net sellers of Rs3.16bn.

Asian stocks rose to their three week highs following cues from Wall Street. Nikkei climbed 0.5 percent to 13,983.51.

Citigroup slipped 1.5% after Goldman Sachs cut its earnings outlook. Goldman also cut its forecasts on a number of other big banks. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell after Goldman Sachs downgraded the companies to "sell" saying it expects them to announce big writedowns.

US light crude oil for April delivery rose 44 cents to settle at $99.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange

ONGC has announced four new oil and gas discoveries, three onland and one offshore.

HDFC Bank, Centurion Bank of Punjab approved a swap ratio of 1:29 for merger and may look at an overseas buy. .HDFC Bank is likely to issue preference shares to promoter HDFC to enable the mortgage company to retain its shareholding above 20% post-merger.

Swedish truck and bus maker Scania has firmed up plans to manufacture trucks in India alone as L&T has reportedly backed out.

PNB has cut its PLR by 50 basis points to 12.5%.

Ashok Leyland is planning to double investment in Uttaranchal from Rs10bn to Rs20bn as a part of its expansion plan, according to a report.

Hindustan Electro Graphites expects to achieve a capacity of 58,000 tons by FY09 and ~64,000 tons by FY10. Bhushan Steel has entered into two JV with Australian firm Bowen Energy for exploration of coal mines.

Gitanjali Group plans to hive off its five businesses and eventually list them on the bourses.

Essar Shipping has approved raising of US$1bn through issue of securities

Jubilant Organosys has bagged new contracts worth US$92mn for its proprietary products and exclusive synthesis segment for 2008.

Crompton Greaves has announced a tie-up with Dutch firm Lemnis Lighting for launching LED lighting products.

Bulls look to chug ahead

Finally, bulls managed to end a session on a strong note. Initially after falling sharply in the early trades markets bounced back and gradually gained momentum through out the trading session. The Sensex recovered over 500 points and the Nifty index recouped over 140 points from their respective days low. The rally could be attributed to strong buying interest in the Reliance pack of stocks. Also the IT, Power and the Realty stocks were in demand. Finally, the 30-share Sensex closed at 17,650 adding 301 points. The NSE Nifty closed at 5,200 gaining 89 points.

Among the 30-scrips of Sensex, RIL, ICICI Bank, Infosys and L&T were among the major gainers. However, HDFC Bank, Baja Auto and Hindustan Unilever were among the major losers in the index.

IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd, developers of various infrastructure projects in the road sector through several Special Purpose Vehicles got listed at Rs192 against issue price of Rs185. After initially slipping heavily below its issue price, the scrip constantly gained ground thought out the session.

Finally, the stock ended at Rs189 recording gains of 2% after hitting an intra-day high of Rs200 and a low of Rs168 and recorded volumes of over 2,00,00,000 shares on NSE. IRB Infrastructure, raised about Rs9.44bn through its IPO last month. IRB Infrastructure offered 51mn equity shares through the IPO, constituting 15.36%of its fully diluted post issue paid-up capital. The issue got subscribed by over four times. The issue price at the lower end of price band of Rs185-220.

Tulsi Extrusions Limited manufacturer of various types of PVC pipes and fabricated fittings got listed at Rs100 on the bourses against issue price of Rs85. The scrip constantly gained ground thought out the trading session finally closed at Rs140 translating into a premium of 65%. The scrip has touched an intra-day high of Rs144 and a low of Rs99 and has recorded volumes of over 3,00,00,000 shares on NSE.

The company came out with public issue of 57,00,000 equity shares of Rs10 each during February 1 and February 5, 2008. The price band for the issue was set between Rs80 and Rs85. The issue was subscribed 2.08 times. QIBs portion subscribed 1.54 times, HNIs 3.11 times and Retail category 2.46 times.

Pfizer India ended flat at Rs633. The company announced its Q4 result with net profit at Rs220.36mn (up 29.5%) and revenue at Rs2bn (up 9.2%). The company also announced that it would pay dividend of Rs27.5 per share. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs653 and a low of Rs630 and recorded volumes of over 32,000 shares on NSE.

Gati ended lower by 1.3% to Rs121. The company announced that it entered into agreement with General Logistics. The scrip hit an intra-day high of Rs126 and a low of Rs119 and recorded volumes of over 28,000 shares on NSE.

M&M was marginally down by 0.3% to Rs627. According to reports the company was planning to launch a premium SUV codenamed ‘W201’ by 2009 and the Ingenio MUV by end August of this year. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs634 and a low of Rs605 and recorded volumes of over 3,00,000 shares on NSE.

RPower surged by over 8% to Rs450 the scrip for the first time crossed the IPO price of Rs450 led by unabated buying. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs455 and a low of Rs421 and recorded volumes of over 3,00,00,000 shares on NSE.

Ram Informatics gained 1.2% to Rs16 after the company said that it received orders from Registration & Stamps. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs16 and a low of Rs15 and has recorded volumes of over 43,000 shares on BSE.

Cues from the international markets look to be a bit supportive for the time being and with the railway budget to be announced on Tuesday, bulls would look to carry forward the momentum. However, having said that, even a bad day in the US market is enough to turn the sentiments negative. It also shows that one cannot take any rally for granted, as all the gains of a day can easily be wiped out in a minutes. Stock specific action would continue.

News Snippets:

- Godrej Industries has set up a joint venture with Malaysian firm IJM Plantations to develop palm estates and palm oil mills in India. (BS)

- Godawari Power and Ispat planning to foray into commercial power generation with projects in Chhattisgarh or Jharkhand with capacities ranging between 300 to 1,000 mw with coal and coal rejects as fuel. (BS)

- Opto Circuits India has signed an agreement to acquire Wisconsin-based Criticare Systems Inc, a maker of medical equipments, for US$68mn. (BS)

- Zylog Systems Ltd is foraying into Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) with a tie-up with an American company. (BL)

- The Future Group is all set to make a foray into rural retailing by riding on the Aadhaar outlets belonging to Godrej Agrovet.

- HSBC, StanChart have evinced interest in picking up a stake in YES Bank. (FE)

- ONGC has reconfigured its proposed mega petrochemical plant at Dahej in Gujarat, bringing down the cost by Rs11bn to Rs124.4bn.

- The Government has directed IOC, BPCL and HPCL to stop LPG supply to PNG users. (ET)

- Crompton Greaves has entered into two agreements with the Netherland-based Lemnis Lightings and Italy-based Fael Luce to boost its presence in lightning space. (ET)

- The Empowered Committee of Secretaries has cleared Cairn India's proposal to lay a US$800mn pipeline for transporting crude oil from its Rajasthan oil fields and recover the cost through sale of crude. (ET)

- BPCL is expected to export less fuel oil for FY08 to cover for its increased domestic market share. (ET)

- Gati Ltd plans to invest US$100mn over the next 18 months to expand operations in the domestic and overseas markets. (ET)

- Unitech to invest Rs90bn in two real estate projects in Hyderabad. (ET)

- GMR Infrastructure plans to foray into the corporate jet market with a capital expenditure plan of Rs7bn. (ET)

We recommend a buy in Alstom Projects India from a short-term perspective. From the charts, we see that the stock met with a key resistance level at around Rs 1,085 in early January and began to decline. The stock’s downtrend continued up to Rs 660 levels (touched in mid February) where it got support from a long-term support and bounced off penetrating the down trendline. The positive divergence in the daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) supports the stock’s b ounce off. The daily RSI has entered the neutral region from the bearish zone. The weekly RSI appears to have found support at 40 levels. The daily moving average convergence divergence has crossed over one another and is steadily rising towards the positive territory. Recently, the stock crossed over the 21-day moving average. Our short-term forecast for the stock is bullish. We expect the stock to move up to our target price of Rs 835 in the short-term. Investors with a short-term perspective can buy the stock while keeping the stop-loss at Rs 674.